A Lone Star on the Horizon? (Gerrit) (Archive)

I haven't posted about this situation that's been brewing because: a) I didn't want to jinx it... and b) I was worried that I'd get your hopes up (and in the meantime over-inflate my own)

Anyway, now is a good time to give you a very important update on a big decision that Erin and I have been thinking and praying a lot on recently...

Around three weeks ago I went to an information session for ExxonMobil and really was impressed by what they had to say. The jobs they described that they were recruiting for in their Information Systems department sounded excellent, and the benefits even better! Only one problem... a job with Exxon would require a move to Houston.

A few days later, they invited me out to dinner with some of the other recruits they had decided to interview. The dinner brought even more enticing information to light, and I got to sit down and talk with a lady who works in their information systems department. She told me her favorite thing about working for Exxon was that they rotate you through positions around every two years. They do this to keep their employees fresh, innovative, and to constantly look for the managerial talent. A great part of this is that often, you get to sit down with your supervisor and pick your next assignment.

Very excited, I went to my interview the next day. I was relieved when the lady I had talked to at the dinner turned out to be my interviewer! Already being comfortable around her made the interview much easier. The interview went well,and she told me that I should hear back in the next few weeks.

Just over a week and a half later (now we're up to this past Monday) I got a phone call from a woman in the ExxonMobil HR department. She informed me that I had made the cut and asked if I would be available to fly out on November 5th and 6th to Houston for a site visit and a series of additional interviews. She told me that I wouldn't be competing for a position with the other recruits, that there were plenty of positions, but gave the impression that the interviews would be more designed to determine placement within the company.

After a quick call with Travel to set up my itinerary, I was all set to fly out of Birmingham on November 5!

Erin and I are VERY excited/nervous/scared/pumped/uncertain/anxious about this possible move to Houston. Even though it would be very very hard to be away from "home" and from so much of our families, it would be a fun adventure.

Please pray for us as we work towards making this big decision, that Erin would be able to find a good job there too, and that we'd be able to find the perfect place to live (if this is what we decide).

Nothing is set in stone yet (I don't actually have an offer... and won't hear official until the beginning of December), but Erin and I are doing a lot of research.

Your prayers are appreciated!

Engagement Photos (Gerrit) (Archive)

So we have our engagement photos back and they are wonderful!

For those of you who would like to see them, here is a preview.

You can also go check out more on our photos page, or go to Simply Bloom's blog (simplybloomphotography.com/blog).

An Update... (Erin) (Archive)

Oh my goodness! It was been over a month since we have written anything and I am quite sorry for anyone who has been waiting for an update...

Gerrit and I have both been incredibly busy with the start of a new semester. My schedule is a bit less intense than his. He is taking 21 hours which is insane and hopefully he will survive. So far he's doing a really good job though. I, on the other hand, am taking less hours than I have ever taken before, but, being the student that I am, I have been able to find plenty of ways to stay busy.

Football season is also underway (yay!). This past weekend Gerrit came to Auburn to visit for the Auburn vs. Mississippi State game. Unfortunately (for him) Auburn won by a lot. Really I didn't want us to win that much. I really was rooting for Mississippi State at the end because I didn't want him to be so disappointed in his team. I'm sure my family is appalled by this fact. ;)

After the game Saturday things got worse though. I had a fever. I'm so glad Gerrit was in town to take care of me and I felt much better on Monday. I relapsed yesterday though and went to the doctor today (which is not very helpful and only necessary because I am missing class and need an excuse). So I'm at home resting today and trying to get better because I hate missing class. Hopefully Gerrit won't get sick later this week though!

In other news: we got our engagement pictures back! Hopefully soon we will have some blog images for everyone to see!

Engagement Pictures (Erin) (Archive)

This past week in Huntsville has been extremely busy. We decided on a caterer and a florist, but the most exciting thing was taking our engagement photos!

Tuesday we went out to Camp Maranatha (for those of you who don't know, this is where we met while we were working together) to walk around and reminisce and think about the special places we wanted to get photos at.

Tuesday night and Wednesday, though, we were nervously watching the weather. It stormed on Tuesday night and they predicted rain on Wednesday, but thankfully it cleared up and we had perfect weather for our engagement session!

We had no idea that taking photos could be so much fun! We had such a great time and enjoyed walking around finding great spots for pictures! We had to do a little trekking through the woods, too. ;)

We know that we got some amazing images (Simply Bloom photography is incredible!), and although they all won't be ready until September or October (they are taking a bit of a vacation after a busy summer) they did post a sneak peek of upcoming sessions with one image from ours included!

http://simplybloomphotography.com/blog/?p=489

Go to their blog post a scroll down to see one of our images! Let us know what you think, and we will let you know when there are more to see!

Busy, Busy, Busy... (Gerrit) (Archive)

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since we've posted, but there is certainly good reason for it! Erin and I have been finishing up summer school recently, but as you are certainly already aware, sometimes "vacation" can be busier than normal life. We each were overwhelmed with work during the July term (I was taking two classes and working 20hrs per week, Erin was taking two classes, working, and doing undergrad research).

Now that we're home, we've barely had a moment to stop and breathe. Between our younger brothers getting ready to move into their respective colleges and trying to find the perfect dress for Erin for our engagement photos (which are supposed to happen on Wednesday, weather permitting), we've been moving non-stop. Today we have an appointment with a caterer, so you can go ahead and throw wedding planning into that mix as well.

Of course, despite the "go-go-go-ness", we are certainly enjoying having these two weeks off in between semesters to spend together.

Hope life is treating our faithful readers well...